This is my first blog in English, and I wanted to start it with Lord Narayan's name.I want to please the Lord more by writing about his devotees, rather than about himself. The list of his devotees begins with twelve Azhwars who took birth in Tamil Nadu as mere human beings like us. The name Azhwars literally means those immersed deeply in their devotion and love of Lord Vishnu.
Azhwars reside permanently with the Lord in his heavenly abode Vaikund. They have incarnated as Azhwars - Vasihnavite Saints - to propagate bhakti marga, i.e., devotion to Lord Vishnu.
Moreover, out of the twelve Azhwars Kothai was a only girl, whose poems Thiruppavai are chanted in this Margashirsha month. Like Kothai in South India, there were two more women devotees across India. who were madly in love with Krishna. They are Chittorgarh's princess Meera and Vrijvasi Radha. Let us start with Radha Rani.
RADHA
It was written in Skandapurana that Radha was one of the Gopis who had been with Kanha in Vrindavan during Dwaparayug. As per the wishes of Vrishabanu and Kirthikumari, Radha, who is the Goddess Lakshmi's reincarnation, took birth as their daughter. During her birth Naradh muni met Vrishbanu and blessed the child. Naradh muni also told Vrishbanu that Radha is divine, and that Lord Narayana with all his deities will follow her footprint.
As Krishna's father Nandagopalan and Vrishabanu were friends, on the day of the Holi festival Radha and Krishna met each other for the first time. A divine bond was form between them and the love between them was not of a man and a woman, but a very phenomenal and divine one.
Radha and Krishna were devoted to each other. They were always together. Radha was the soul of Krishna, who was the life of Vrajboomi! She attracts Krishna who was attracting the whole universe and with her company she gave happiness to the almighty. Hence, she is called Govinda- mohini and Govinda -nandini.Rahdarani was the head of all the Gopis who performed Rasleela with Krishna.
Although Kanha left Vrindavan at the age of 10, 'Srimati Radha Rani' as she is called by the Vrijvasis stayed back at Vrindavan as Kanha's wife. She behaved as if Krishna and Radha were one individual, and Krishna never completely left Vrindavan. Such was the love of Radha towards Krishna that they became one.
There is no special mention of Radha in Vyasa's Baghavadh purana or in Mahabharadh. But it is mentioned that cowherd girls danced with Krishna in his Rasleela. In Skandapurana Radha was mentioned as Lakshmi Devi's avatar and that she was the head of all the Gopis. Later Jayadeva elaborated the relations between Radha-Kishna's relation in his Geet-Govind.
Gaudiya Vaishnava and Vallabha Brahmins view Radha as LakshmiDevi's avatar and worship Radha-Krishna.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also spread the culture of worshipping RadhaKrishna.
There are temples of Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan and Barsana.
ANDAL
In 8th century A.D, one of the 12 Azhwars,Vishnuchittar also called 'Periyazhwar'who recited "Thiruppallandu" prabandham for Sriman Narayanan's long life lived in Srivilliputhur. He made garland for Vatpathrasayee and was growing thulsi and flowers in his garden for the mala. In the month of ashada on a purva phalguni day, he found a girl child in his garden, while plucking flowers. He named her "Kodhai" which means garland. Vishnucithar taught her slokas and sthothras about Lord Vishnu and about temples. Because of this she was immensely dedicated to Lord Narayana and wanted to marry the almighty.
Making garland for Lord Vatpathrasayee of Srivilliputhur temple was daily duty of Vishnuchithar. Kothai also helped him in this duty. Once garland was made, Kothai wore the garland on herself and checked in the mirror whether the garland will look beautiful on Lord or not. However, according to Hindu customs one should not offer used things to god. One day Periyazhwar saw Kothai with garland on her and scolded her in anger. He discarded Kothai's garland and prepared new garlands for god and offered them to the God instead. But Vatpathrasayee refused the garland.
On that day Lord appeared in the dreams of Periyazhwar and told him that he was happily wearing the Kothai's garland and thereafter he will wear only the garlands worn by Kothai. Kothai by her love and bhakti ruled the Lord so she was called as "Andal" means ruler, from that day onwards.
During the Brahmotsavam of Tirupathi Balaji, Lord Balaji wears Andal's garland from Srivilliputhur every year.
When Andal attained the marriageable age, Periyazhwar started searching for a suitable groom for Andal. As Andal came to know about this search she told Periyazhwar that she would marry Lord Krishna or some other presiding deity only. This attitude of his daughter worried Vishnuchitthar and he could not decide what to do about her daughter.
At the same time a bakth of Lord Vishnu came to Srivilliputhur to give lectures about the life of Krishna during Dwaparayug. He told the bakthas that the Gopis in Vrindavan were keeping Kathyayini "Vrath" in order to get Krishna's affection. He also mentioned that the Gopis made ('Pavai') the idol of Kathyayini devi from mud and worshipped the Devi.
Kothai then recited the 30 hymns of THIRUPPAVAI with which she woke up the girls in Srivilliputhur to take bath, and to do the Kathyayini Vrath in order to render service to Krishna and get his blessings. Every year during the month of Margaseerh in TamilNadu a large number of people get up early and recite the Thiruppavai Prabandham. It begins with,
.
" MARGAZHI THINGAL MADHI NIRAINDA NANNALAY....."
and ends with,
"SENGAN THIRUMUGATHU
CHELVATHIRUMALAL
ENGUM THIRUVARUL PETRU INBURUVAR EM PAVAI"
Andal also recited Nachiar Thirumozhi consisting of 140 hymes. It describes her longing for Lord Narayana, about her dream of Narayana, and how she got married to the Lord in those dreams.
When Lord saw her bhakti and dedication he decided to fulfil her wishes.
One day Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam came in the dreams of Periyazhwar and told him that he wanted to marry Kothai and asked him to bring her to Srirangam. And Sri Rangan told the pujaris of the temple to prepare for the marriage.
Vishnuchitthar took Andal to Srirangam and when she entered the temple she got royal welcome. As Andal entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, she merged with the idol of Sri Ranganatha.
She got her beloved Ranganatha as she wrote in her NACHIYAR THIRUMOZHI,
" MATHALAM KOTTA VARISANGAM NINDRUDHA
MUTHUDAI THAMA NIRAITHAZHNDHA PANDARKEEZH
MAITHUNAN NAMBI MADUSUDHAN VANDENNAI
KAITHALAM PATRA KANAKKANDEN THOZHI NAAN "
Princess Meera was a daughter of Rathansingh, who ruled Mertha in Rajasthan. Meera lost her mother at the age of 7 and was brought up in her grandfather's house. When she was growing there, a bakth gave her an idol of Krishna and asked her to perform puja. There is another version of the idol's legend. When Meera was a child she saw a bride and a groom in a wedding ceremony, and asked her mother who would be her groom, and her mother gave a Krishna idol and told her that he is your groom.
As Meera was a child, she could not do the pujas perfectly. On seeing this the pandith took the vigraha of Krishna away. Meera went with her friend to the baktha's house to get her idol back. There she saw that the idol had refused to take the offerings of the pandit.
The bakth had understood the relation between the Meera and her Krishna, and gave back her the idol. From that day onwards she had started believing that Lord Krishna was her husband and everything in her life was Krishna. The idol was with her till her death.
When Meera was 18 years old she got married to Bojaraja the prince of Chithorgarh. As she considered Krishna as her husband, she did not accept Bojaraja and lead her life as a sanyasini. Meera thought of herself as the reincornation of Lalitha, a gopi during Krishna's period in Dwapara Yuga. Unlike her in-laws, her husband understood her and was very cooperative.
But in 1521 she lost her husband Bhojraja in a battle. After his death her brother in law and others in the palace started torturing her. Her father in law Rana Sanga respected Meera and protected her from his family members, but he survived only for a few years after Bhojraja's death.
After her father in law's death her brother in law Vikramadithya became King of Chithorgarh. Further, he was strongly against Meera's devotion to Krishna and made her life miserable.
In order to forget these difficulties Meera had started singing Krishna Bajans and dancing in the public. She even went out at night and participated in Satsangs. This was not an acceptable behaviour of a Rajput princess who was also widow. All these habits of Meera made Vikramadithya extremely angry. Meera proclaimed in her bajans that Vikramadithya had attempted to kill her many times, but she was rescued by Krishna each time.
She left Chitor palace and went to her father's houseAs she was not welcomed there , she left for Vrindavan the centre of Krishnaism and on her way she spread Krishna Bakthi by singing Krishna Bajans.
As she faced problems from orthadox brahmins,in Vrindavan She could not get peace there too. So she left Vrindavan and spread her bakthi movement in every village of North India. She spent some time in Kashi and at last reached Dwaraka.
In 1557 another brother-in-law of Meera, UdaySingh became king of Chithor. He had sympathy for Meera and sent some brahmins to bring her back. When they reached Dwaraka, Meera told them that she wanted the darshan of Krishna for the last time and went to temple. When she reached the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, like Kothai she too integrated with Krishna and disappeared.
She neither lead her life as a princess nor worried about other's comments or taunts. She listened to her mind only. She did not have interest in the unstable worldly things and wanted Lord almighty only.
If the concept of "Lord Krishna" took a human form it will look like Meera only.
She recited 1300 bajans on Lord Krishna in the mixed language of Gujarathi, Vraj and Rajasthani.
Some of Meera Bajans are
"MERE THO GIRIDHARA GOPALU"
"HE GOVIND HE GOPALA"
"THUM BHIN MERE KHON KHABAR LE"
"PAYIJI MAINE RAM RATHAN DHAN PAUO"
"ISI LAGI LAGAN"
Radha who was Kanha's soul, Kodhai and Meera who believed that Krishna was their husband, were divine lovers.
May the three divine lovers along with their Krishna bless us all.
